site.btaLegislative Changes Concerning Referendums Pass at First Reading

The National Assembly has approved at first reading a bill to amend and supplement the Direct Citizen Participation in State and Local Government Act. Some of the draft provisions foresee making it easier to collect signatures and submit proposals for holding referendums.

The bill was submitted by MP Toshko Yordanov (There Is Such a People, TISP) and a group of other MPs. The first-reading vote was 143 votes in favour, 6 against, and 24 abstentions.

The bill proposes that the approach to local referendums should also be applied to national referendums, according to the report of the Committee on Constitutional and Legal Affairs. It foresees removing the requirement for citizens to indicate a permanent address when signing a proposal for a national referendum. Another proposal concerns the timeframe for collecting and submitting signatures. It is also proposed that newly elected parliaments or municipal councils be notified in writing of any ongoing referendum procedure, in order to remove the obligation to terminate a referendum due to the expiry of the tenure of the relevant National Assembly or municipal council. Some proposals also relate to the minimum number of signatures required and the validity criteria for referendums.

Nataliya Kiselova (BSP – United Left) said that her parliamentary group supports the bill. She noted that over the years the law has evolved, making conditions for referendums easier.

Alexander Rashev (TISP) stated that the party included the issue of citizens’ direct participation in government and local self-government in its statute. His colleague Stanislav Balabanov added that the purpose of direct democracy is to allow people to be consulted more often on issues important to them or to the country.

Yavor Bozhankov (Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria, CC-DB) commented that a referendum is an instrument that should not be abused, citing the example of Brexit in the United Kingdom. Bozhankov also noted that TISP’s motion comes in a pre-election context. Atanas Slavov (CC-DB) said the topic is too important to be discussed in the final weeks of the National Assembly and therefore abstained from support.

Georgi Georgiev (Vazrazhdane) stated that his party has always supported changes to facilitate the procedure for holding referendums.

The debate on the amendments was interrupted several times due to requests for breaks.